Relationship of viscosity to porosities in automixed elastomeric impressions

Porosities commonly presenting as voids have been recognized as an inherent problem in elastomeric impressions. Automixing of the impression has been found to be effective in reducing voids. The purpose of this study was to compare formation of voids in medium-viscosity and putty-wash materials in four automixed addition silicone elastomers. Impressions of a master model were made according to manufacturers' recommendations on manipulation of materials. Voids presenting on a predetermined surface were counted under a binocular microscope at a magnification factor of 7x. Results showed that Express exhibited a significantly higher number of voids than other materials in both categories. Putty-wash impressions generated significantly less voids than medium-viscosity impressions for all materials except Reprosil. The findings of this study suggested that putty-wash impressions produced significantly less porosities than medium-viscosity impressions and, consequently, offer better tear strength for impressions.